The 16th Finance Commission, led by Dr Arvind Panagariya, submitted its report for the 2026-31 period to President Droupadi Murmu. The report addresses tax distribution between the Union and States, grants-in-aid, and disaster management financing.
Commission Submits Report to President and PM
The 16th Finance Commission submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu on Monday. The report was submitted by 16th Finance Commission Chairman Dr Arvind Panagariya, along with members of the panel – Annie George Mathew, Dr. Manoj Panda, T. Rabi Sankar, and Dr Soumyakanti Ghosh. Secretary to the 16th Finance Commission Ritvik Pandey also accompanied the Chairman.
The Sixteenth Finance Commission (XVIFC) was constituted by the President in pursuance of Article 280 of the Constitution.
The Sixteenth Finance Commission also presented a copy of the report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today.
Report’s Scope and Mandate
The report pertains to the award period from 2026-27 to 2030-31.
As per the terms of reference (ToR), the Finance Commission was mandated to give its report covering a period of five years commencing April 1, 2026 making recommendations on the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the States as well as the allocation between the States of the respective shares of such proceeds, grants-in-aid to States and review arrangements on financing Disaster Management initiatives.
Consultation Process and Structure
A Finance Ministry release said that during its tenure, the XVIFC analysed the finances of the Union and States in detail and has come up with a report after wide-ranging consultations with the Union Government, state governments and local governments at different tiers, Chairpersons and members of previous Finance Commissions, academic institutions of eminence, multi-lateral institutions, Advisory Council to the Commission, and other domain experts.
This report has been organised in two volumes. Volume I contains the recommendations as per the TOR and the accompanying annexures are in Volume II.
The report shall be available in the public domain once it is tabled in the Parliament by the Union Finance Minister under Article 281.
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